Ayn Rand
Ayn Rand is a 20th century writer and political philosopher perceived as the mother of Objectivism, a philosophy which argues for a cold-blooded, emotionally distant quasi-libertarian world in which you place no reliance on anyone other than yourself, and help no one other than yourself. Her most famous work is the tedious 1961 "Atlas Shrugged". Book Details Criticism of Ayn Rand and Objectivism *Criticism of Ayn Rand and Objectivism -Part of the "Critiques of Libertarianism" site. *A free-market, paleo-libertarian critique of Ayn Rand and her cult-like following by economist Murray Rothbard: " The Sociology of the Ayn Rand Cult" Victims of dictatorships "deserve whatever their government deserves." As quoted by the The Ayn Rand Institute from Ford Hall Forum 1972: "A Nation's Unity" Q: "What should be done about the killing of innocent people in war?" Ayn Rand: "This is a major reason people should be concerned about the nature of their government. If by neglect, ignorance, or helplessness, they couldn't overturn their bad government and choose a better one, then they have to pay the price for the sins of their government—as all of us are paying for the sins of ours. That's why we have to be interested in the philosophy of government and in seeing, to the extent we can, that we have a good government. A government is not an independent entity: it's supposed to represent the people of a nation. If some people put up with dictatorship—as some do in Soviet Russia and as they did in Germany—they deserve whatever their government deserves." Notes: "If by neglect, ignorance, or '''helplessness', they couldn't overturn their bad government...they deserve whatever their government deserves''." Thus Ayn Rand literally believed that "helplessness" is a death penalty offence. Since the rulers of Nazi Germany were executed, the logical result of her opinion would be to imprison or execute anyone who lived in occupied Europe who wasn't an active member of the resistance - a policy that was carried out by Joseph Stalin. Capitalism Magazine added their agreement to this opinion, quoting it in this article: http://www.capmag.com/article.asp?ID=4367 Objectivism and Dianetics In his highly critical 1999 book The Ayn Rand Cult, Jeff Walker notes the following similarities between Ayn Rand's Objectivism and L. Ron Hubbard's Dianetics: * both claim to be science and logic based * both treat the brain as a machine * both present a higher mind reprogramming the rest of humanity * both recommended the uprooting of irrational premises (engrams) * both assume that rationality permit people to enjoy healthy emotional lives * both relate immorality to decreased potential for survival * both perceive striving for goals as the important motivator in life * both oppose coercion, even by government * both assume that rational people have no real conflicts of interest * both attach mail-in cards in their books to connect readers to the apparatus of movement recruitment Walker notes however that only Ayn Rand's followers claim that hers was the greatest novel ever written. References * Jeff Walker. 1999. The Ayn Rand Cult. Chicago: Open Court. ISBN 0812693906. Pp. 274-275. Category:biostub